Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Dec 17, 2017 News
With only a few days remaining for the year, Guyana is readying itself to battle in the International Court of Justice over the Venezuela border controversy.
Yesterday, President David Granger noted theat Guyana, over the past 30 months, has been aiming its efforts at reaching a peaceful resolution to the territorial controversy.
This was done through its engagement in a renewed Good Offices process. Its efforts are expected to eventuate in a juridical settlement of the territorial controversy.
It will be recalled that following the Coalition Government’s accession to office in May 2015, the new administration faced a major problem.
ExxonMobil announced earlier that it had found oil in commercial quantities offshore Guyana.
Venezuela immediately laid claim to the waters, awakening a simmering situation also to the borders of Guyana.
That neighbouring country has been claiming a large swath of mineral rich Essequibo, the largest county of Guyana.
Guyana immediately ramped up its appeal and complained to the international community.
In late 2015, President Granger took the issue to the floor of the UN General Assembly.
Outgoing Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a personal representative, Ambassador Dag Nylander, asking Guyana to wait until December 2017 to determine whether a compromise can be met.
However, there appears little progress.
Granger made it clear on Friday that Guyana wants the matter to be settled once and for all.
He said that he is hopeful that the current Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres will do what his predecessor, Ban Ki-moon had committed to do – that is, if there is no satisfactory progress between Venezuela and Guyana at that the end of this year, the matter will be referred to the International Court of Justice.
Speaking during a long-awaited Press Conference at the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday, the President disclosed that Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge, remains engaged with the Personal Representative of the Secretary General.
“I have met with the Secretary General and if necessary, I will go and meet him again because this monkey has been on our back for 51 years and we would want to enter the New Year with a clear idea of how the matter could be resolved under the law.”
According to Granger, as far as Guyana is concerned, the border matter was settled since 1899. Venezuela has not advanced any legal argument to show that the Tribunal Award then is void.
Granger noted that recently army ranks located the boundary markers between the two countries.
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